Refrigerator door



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 21, 1943 INVENTOR. 154/71 E. A/UFZ/A/ZJ EFf' wzzm w E. E. NOFZINGER June 27, 1950 REFRIGERATOR DOOR 2 Sheets-Sheet2 Filed Aug. 21, 1943 IN VEN TOR.

Patented June 27, 1950 REFRIGERATOR DOOR Earl E. Nofzinger, Greenviile,Mich., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Gibson Refrigerator Company,Greenville, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application August 21,1943, Serial No. 499,473

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to refrigerators and more particularly to thedoors of refrigerator cabinets.

Heretofore refrigerator doors have been fabricated principall from woodor metal, mostly the latter. Recently plastic materials have beenemployed to some extent as panels for refrigerator doors, but their usehas been limited because of the many new problems involved in theirfabrication.

Accordingly, the principal object of the invention is to provide arefrigerator door of novel construction which can be fabricatedconveniently from a minimum number of piece of plastic material.

Another object is to provide a door formed of plastic material of simpleand economical construction.

Another object of the invention is to provide a refrigerator door havinga peripheral edge thereof formed to provide a seat for a gasket ofsealing material.

These objects will more fully appear in the following specification whenread in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a refrigerator cabinet with thedoor thereof in open position;

' Figure 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the door taken onsubstantially the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on substantiallythe line 3-3 of Figure 1 but showing the door in closed position;

Figures 4 and 5 are fragmentary cross-sectional views similar to Figures2 and 3 respectively but showing a modified form of the invention; andFigure 6 is a fragmentary pictorial view of one lower corner of thedoor, parts being broken away to disclose the construction thereof.

Referring now to the drawings in more detail, and more particularly toFigures 1 to 3 and 6 thereof, the invention is shown as embodied in adoor for a household refrigerator cabinet. The cabinet is of generallyconventional construction. The cabinet III has a main food storagecompartment II in which an evaporator 2 and a plurality of shelves 3 aremounted.

Hinged to one side of the cabinet is a door H. The door is composed ofan outer panel l5 and an inner panel l6. Both panels are relatively thinsheets of plastic material formed to proper shape in suitable molds. Theouter panel is a one piece structure. It comprises a front wall sidewalls l8, and a top wall |8a extending rearwardly therefrom. The sidewalls l8 and the top wall |8a merge into the front wall in smooth curvesof relatively large radii, as shown in Figure 3. The rearward portion ofthe side walls and top wall extend substantially perpendicular to thefront wall H.

The inner panel I6 is substantially flat throughout practically itsentire extent. About its entire perimeter is a relatively shallow recessI9 of angular cross-section. The recess is formed by an angularlyoutwardly extending portion 20 and a marginal flange 2| extendingperpendicular to the main portion of the panel Hi. The flange 2| iscontinuous and extends about the entire perimeter of the door.

The inner panel I6 is formed to telescope within the side walls and topwall of the outer panel and to fit relatively snugly therein, as shownbest in Figure 3. When so telescoped within the outer panel the flange2| on the inner panel is arranged in parallel juxtaposed relation to themarginal edges of the side walls ll! of the outer panel.

'The flange 2| and the rear edges of the side walls l8 and top wall |8aare fastened together by any suitable means, such as cement.

The bottom wall 22 of the door is formed by a thin strip of metal orplastic. The bottom wall 22 has an upstanding portion 22a which overliesthe outer face of panel l5. The portion 22a is suitably ornamented toenhance its appearance. The bottom wall is secured in part to the doorby a reversel bent flange 25 overlying th flange 2| on the inner panelIS. The bottom wall 22 is also secured to a transverse frame member 23of wood or other suitable material secured to the door.

A gasket 24 for sealing the space between the inner panel l6 and thefront wall of the cabinet proper is mounted in the recess IS in theinner panel. The gasket is a hollow tube, as indicated in Figures 2 and3, and preferably is formed of rubber. The gasket is shaped as shown inFigure -2, so that it fits within the angular recess l9. Adjacent theouter side of the gasket 24 is a narrow flange 24a which closelyparallels the adjacent wall of the main body of the gasket for a purposewhich will appear presently. Preferably the gasket is formed in onepiece and extends about the entire perimeter of the door.

The gasket is held in place within the recess is by means of a narrowchannel-shaped trim strip 26. The strip 26 is formed of some ornamentalmaterial, preferably plated and polished metal, so as to stiffen andreinforce the edges of the door. One side wall of the strip 26 lies into maintain itself in proper position.

The gasket 24 at the bottom of the door is maintained in position by thereversely bent outwardly extending portion 25 of the bottom wall 22. Thelatter engages the gasket and flange 2| in the same manner as the trimstrip 26. v

The door is hinged to the cabinet by means of a suitable hinge. One leaf2' of the latter is attached to the cabinet by bolts orscrews, notshown. The other leaf 2'! or the hinge overlies a portion of theadjacent side wall 18 of the door and extends through an opening 29 inthe outer panel 01' the door. The outer leaf 21 is secured to the doorby screws Ill passing through the inner panel as indicated in Figure 3.Incidentally, the gasket 24 overlies the heads of the screws 30. d

The modification of the invention shown in Figures 4 and 5 is somewhatsimilar to that previously described. The door comprises an outer panel50 having side, top and bottom walls 5| extending around the perimeterof the outer panel and generally perpendicular to the main portionthereof. The walls 5i are joined to the ,i'ront wall by smooth curves ofrelatively large radii. In this form of the invention the side wall 5|extends around the entire perimeter of the door.

An inner panel 52 is telescoped within the outer panel 5| in much thesame manner as in the previous embodiment oi the invention. The panel 52is provided about its entire perimeter -with a groove or recess 53 ofrectangular channel-shaped con-figuration. The outer side wall I5 of therecess parallels the rear edge of the sidewall 5| of the outer panel.The two panels are cemented together where they contact each.

other.

A gasket 56 for sealing the space between the door and the main part ofthe cabinet is mounted in the recess 53. The gasket is of generally thesame construction as gasket 24 but its base is of rectangular shape soas to flt within the recess 53. Along the outer side of the gask t is aflange 51 spaced from the adjacent portion of D the main body of thegasket.

The gasket is held in place by a, channel shaped ornamental trim strip58. The strip overlies the flange 51 and a portion of the outer surfaceof the side wall 5| and is crimped into place.

The door is hinged to the cabinet proper by a leaf hinge 59 having oneangularly shaped leaf extending through an opening in the outer paneland secured to the inner panel by screws Ill. The other leaf is securedto the main body of the cabinet by suitable bolts or screws. not shown.

It will be seen from theforegoing that the construction of the doordescribed is such as to permit the door to be made of molded plasticmaterial. The door is formed in but two pieces, one of which telescopeswithin the other with their perimetral edges in juxtaposition so thatthey can be cemented together. The formation of the recess about theperimeter of the doorcauses the flange about the perimeter of the doorto extend in the same direction as the free extremities of the sidewalls of the outer panel so that they are readily accessible forcementing together. In addition-,- the recess provides for a gasket ofrelatively great thickness without unduly increasing the distancebetween the door and cabinet when the door is closed. The increasedthickness of the gasket provides for great flexibility and therelatively small gap between the door and cabinet substantially reducesheat leakage through the gap.

It will be evident that the invention is susceptible of use in cabinetsother than refrigerator cabinets Accordingly, the scope of the inventionis to be limited only by the appended claim.

I claim:

A cabinet door having a marginal recess formed in its inner face, thelaterally outer side of said recess being defined by a door flangeextending perpendicular to' the plane of the door, a resilient gasket insaidrecess, said gasket comprising a main body portion and a gasketflange spaced therefrom, said gasket flange 'being juxtaposed to saiddoor flange, and an ornamental channel member overlying the free edgesof said flanges. the legs of said channel member engaging the respectiveflanges to hold the same together.

EARL E. NOFZINGER.

REFERENCES CITED' The following references are of record in the GreatBritain Mar. 5. i940

